Former NFL player Brandon Chillar is reportedly involved in a car crash Oct. 19, which resulted in severely damaging a rare tree in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. Police say Chillar, who was driving a 2013 Audi smashed into the Sapphire dragon tree just before 5:00 a.m. on Oct. 19 and then took off on foot, CBS 8 San Diego reported.
It is however not clear where the former lineman for the St. Louis Rams and Green Bay Packers will face any crime in the reported hit-and-run crash.
“Based on the description of the driver, officers found him about four blocks away,” Lt. Kevin Mayer of the San Diego Police Department told the news channel.
Chillar, 32, of Carlsbad, California, retired in 2010 and is currently the defensive coach for the football team at Carlsbad High School. News 8 reported that Chillar said he fell asleep at the wheel and walked only about a block because he thought his car was going to blow up.
Lt. Mayer said Chillar was not given special treatment rather he needed medical attention at the time of the crash, “He was transported to a local hospital for injuries,” he said. “Looks like he ran the stop sign, then the pole which is a gate at that intersection, striking the tree and knocking the tree down,” Lt. Mayer added.
The park was closed during that time and the gate at Balboa Drive and Quince Drive was locked. Police say the driver was heading south on Balboa Drive when the crash happened.
Chillar says he later went to the scene and saw the damage but was unaware of he took down the park’s only Sapphire dragon tree.
Police impounded the 2013 Audi and say the case is still under investigation. Chillar could also be held responsible for damages to the park’s gate and tree.
“It’s truly sad. It is an important tree, was an important tree and now it’s gone,” said the city’s Parks and Recreation spokesperson, Bill Harris.
The grove of Sapphire dragons, from the Paulownia kawakamii species, was planted in the late 1990′s in Balboa Park.
“This was the last one that survived and it has been knocked down so we have no representation of this tree in Balboa Park any longer,” said Harris. “It was one-of-a-kind,” said Harris.
Harris says the damage to the tree from the crash was so severe that the tree could not be saved. Some of the seeds were salvaged. Park officials do not believe they will be able to find another mature Sapphire dragon and will replace it with a Magnolia.